Dessert Places I Want To Try

Having lived in Hong Kong for almost three months, I must say, things are starting to get easier. I guess, in the first place, it wasn’t all that difficult. I have had so much support, and for that, I’m thankful. Perhaps, it’s about this time that I am clearer, and thus happier, about what I expect from myself in my career and my life.

I love living here for several reasons, one of which is the fact that there is so much good food around. I must admit though, that I haven’t been as diligent about trying new dessert places around Hong Kong. Mainly, I frequent Honeymoon Dessert (a chain of tong-shui/Chinese-style desserts located all around Hong Kong) and I’m now into frozen yogurt (especially lychee flavour!) – Berrygood along Graham street, right below Hollywood Road. Which is PATHETIC I tell you! PATHETIC.

Okay, so to do this blog some justice, I’m going to list a bunch of places I would like to try. I got this list from this website: www.openrice.com which is for people who like to find reviewed and ranked restaurants in Hong Kong and can read traditional Chinese (or least know how to use google translate).

1. Sawdust Dessert

Shop 5, G/F, No. 3 King Shing Street, (Causeway Bay)

Named after its famous 木槺布甸  (sawdust pudding), the dessert looks like a chiffon sponge cake, but apparently is soft and has the texture of a pudding. In any case, it looks delicious in the photos.

2. Tsui Yuen Desserts

銅鑼灣波斯富街83號C舖

Chinese style desserts

3. Queen’s Cake Shop
15D Pak Sha Road, (Causeway Bay)

Ooo… they have chestnut cream crepe! Yum! Also recommended, the huge banana cake.

4. C’iest Mieux

Shop B110-B, CitySuper, Times Square, 1 Matheson St (Causeway Bay)

French-style petit desserts. Definitely will try the Mille Crepe, which from what I have read, is a very difficult dessert to tackle – imagine making the cake by layering more than 20 crepes with syrup/custard in between each layer!

Yup, so I guess this is my “goal” before the end of the year. Ambitious, isn’t it? Haha.

Milk custard dessert at Hang Fa Lou

On Friday, I had dinner with my housemate at Xiao Nan Guo (where the crabmeat xiao long bao and the panfried meat buns were superb!). Plus, it is both affordable and yummy. Following that, we yummed down desserts at Hang Fa Lou in Causeway Bay. We shared the cold milk custard dessert (like a really really smooth soybean curd) and a red bean soup with three ice cream dumplings. I realise I am starting to get into the habit of eating desserts EVERYDAY. Hmmm.

Work is starting tomorrow. Exciting.

Things I ate in Hong Kong (part 3)

Day 5: Dinner with Cora at Chao Lou restaurant

Address: Address: 10/F, 1 Peking Road, Tsim Sha Tsui

On Day 5, we met up with Cora, a fellow foodie who really knows her stuff (she has tried so many restaurants and cafes that I think she should come up with her own Michelin guide!), for dinner at Chao Lou Restaurant, which specialises in Teochew food.

First piece of evidence of her great foodie status - she specifically picked the table which had a magnificent view of Hong Kong and its harbour. I felt as though we were eating amidst the clouds, looking far into the lit-up Hong Kong night.

Second piece of evidence – She managed to get the kitchen to make their Teochew specialities on that night when the restaurant was serving from a special Father’s Day set menu, which consisted of shark’s fin and abalone dishes, basically stuff we didn’t want to order. 

Stuff she ordered:

I like duck. I like lotus roots. I like braised stuff. Therefore, I like this dish.

 

Fried taro and shrimp cakes.

Sliced fish congee – heavenly

Taro chips with coconut sugar – quite avant-garde, I must say. It’s like a dessert AND a savoury in one dish.

Day 5: Dessert at Tang Chao (The Sweet Dynasty)

Address: Somewhere in Tsim Sha Tsui

Opposite the restaurant, which specialises in tong shui, is Louis Vuitton. If you can’t afford anything in it (like myself), you take a photograph outside it!

We had the almond paste dessert and a mixed fruit beancurd pudding. I preferred the former, which had the right amount of sweetness and is said to help improve one’s complexion (what’s not to like about a dessert like that!).

After dessert, we adjourned to Cora’s place, which I hope, one day, I can live in. Nuff’ said.

Day 8: Red date tea

I blink and it’s been a week. Wow, time really flies by when you’re not doing anything. Well, technically, I’m not not doing anything. I spend most of my weekdays alone, doing stuff on my list that I’ve set out to do. It’s not ground-breaking Chris Gardner-standing-outside-the-trading-firm-to-lift-himself-out-of-poverty kind of stuff, but more of CALL DADDY AND MUMMY, BUY FOOD, MAKE SURE I DON’T GET LOST ON THE WAY TO THE MTR STATION (and of course the fundamental job stuff) kind of things. And you know what, I quite like that. Not that I’ve evolved into a hermit, but I guess I’ve always been pretty comfortable being by myself, doing things on my own, so this lifestyle fits me okay. Of course, it would be great if I had my good friends who are in sunny Singapore to hang out with. But life isn’t always perfect, is it?

In recent posts, I have deviated quite a bit from the theme of this blog. I sincerely apologise, and this post is meant to get me back on track with my initial mission. With all the take-outs and fast food I’ve been eating, I’ve really been yearning for something healthy and less artery-clogging. So, I decided to make red date and longan tea, which I’m sure will somewhat cleanse some oil off some of my organs. I admit, this isn’t really a dessert. But, for someone like myself who is cooking with only one pot and one ladle, you’ve got to give me some credit for trying, right?

Diana’s red date and longan tea recipe

a handful of red dates (soaked in water for 10 minutes)

HK$10 worth of dried longan (I went to a really traditional herb shop and with my non-Cantonese, managed to get myself HK$10 worth of dried longans - which I guess is equivalent to a handful?)

maybe around 6 – 8 cups of water?

Basically, you add everything into one pot and boil it on moderate heat for about 15 minutes. Then, add some form of sugar to sweeten it up. To increase the nutritional benefits of this tea, I add this syrup called Saolin Lohan Gau, which on its own, is supposed to help increase energy, help my lungs, stop coughing, reduce liver heatiness (no idea what that means, but I’m sure it’s good). Oh, I also crush the red dates to bring out the taste, not necessary, but it’s just something I do.

So there you go. Will probably be posting more soupy type of desserts until I get another kitchen utensil.

On a side note: I think watching Entourage the second time is better than the first. Also, Waitress (directed by Adrienne Shelly) is really good. The tragedy of the director being murdered makes it even more heart-breaking because her talent to come up with something so funny, so sad and so endearingly real all at the same time can no longer be seen anymore. 

Comments to comments (cos I don’t really know how to use my comment function in wordpress):  

Kerly: Hong Kong is about watching lots of TV for me. Haha. Just kidding.

Zee: Slurpee form is not good for me. But I went to Uniqlo to buy some sweaters (which cost me only S$30)! Yay, I love being a cheapo!

Joyce: As stupid as I thought the show was, I really loved watching her eat all those expensive French food and going for those massages. I almost wanted to book a trip to Japan on a spur. Haha.